Revealed in Fire by K.F. Breene

Two

I bracedmy hands on my hips. “That was quite a truth bomb. But not to worry—I don’t want to lord my power over people. I’m happy living in the Brink, and even though it seems like I have everything I could possibly want, it is at the expense of my freedom. I’d prefer to be left alone and get on with my life. You’re in no danger of losing not-pets. Not from me, anyway.”

“What is your freedom worth? Your friends’ lives? Your beloved’s?”

“Darius calls me his beloved, not the other way around. I’m not nearly old enough to use that term of endearment. But no, my freedom is not worth any of those things, which is why I went down into the Underworld rather than letting my father come find me up here.”

After being in Cahal’s company every day for the last couple of months, I could read the subtle nuances in his blank stares. I’d just answered a question.

“Surely you knew that those rumors were about me,” I said, turning and heading toward the others. It had taken a while, but my elephant question had been answered. Time to get back to being pampered in luxury. Man, my life was dull.

I couldn’t even go annoy other vampires, even though this place was a sort of refuge for them. Usually they’d bring a whole host of humans and eat and bang and do whatever else vampires got up to when the boss wasn’t around. Since I was being hidden here, however, the campus was closed for “renovations,” something Darius did every few years anyway. It was just me, him, a druid who didn’t know staring was rude, and now my mage friends. That was it. None of them would run if I chased them. What kind of sport was that?

“I could really go for a shifter bar right about now,” I murmured.

Everything okay? Darius thought as I neared.

Since I had demon magic that could pluck thoughts out of people’s heads (unless they knew how to shield me), we could speak telepathically, one-way radio style. The bond between us also allowed the sharing of emotion, and that seemed to provide Darius with all the guidance he needed to guess my thoughts. With anyone else, that would have made me nervous.

“Yeah. Cahal was just telling me that he worried I’d get recruited by my dad, lose my mind, and try to kill his elephants. The guy is a real downer as far as those things go.”

Without further comment, Darius handed a straight whiskey in a plastic red cup over the mahogany bar. He could tell that I wasn’t in the mood for crystal and ice cubes and finery. I nodded in thanks, my gaze lingering on his beautiful hazel eyes, green specks floating within them, and felt my heart squish.

I was in this majestic hideout for a reason, yes. It just wasn’t the reason everyone thought.

On the surface, I had consented to this little getaway so I could learn and practice and stay away from the public eye. But in reality, I was allowing Darius to protect me in the best way he knew how. I was here for him, and for my friends, who would rush into danger to protect me. Who wouldn’t listen if I told them to run to safety.

Growing up, it had been just my mom and me. We only had each other, and because she’d always feared what would happen if I entered the larger magical world, I had contented myself with learning my magic and sticking to the woods or the tiny town where we bought supplies.

She’d died when I was nineteen, and I was so shocked and shaken by the loss that I’d continued to hide what I was out of practice. But that hadn’t stopped me from seeking magical work. I could’ve fudged the paperwork for a human job, or worked under the table somewhere. I could’ve earned money away from the magical world.

But instead I became a magical bounty hunter.

Hiding from danger wasn’t in my blood. It just wasn’t. I couldn’t stay in this place forever.

I loved Darius, though, with all my blackened heart. I loved my dual-mage friends Callie and Dizzy, though I would only admit it in drunken hug-fests, and I loved my natural dual-mage friends, who managed to visit me a few times a month even though they had a Mages’ Guild to help run and new recruits to train. I even strongly liked the prickly and incredibly closed-off druid who beat my ass on the regular. For them, I would stay here, out of harm’s way, and out of trouble.

At least until the screws in my noggin started to come loose.

I blew out a breath, vacating the bar so Cahal could grab a drink, and plopped down on the sunless sun chair next to Emery.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey.” He glanced at my red cup. “You can take the girl out of the bad neighborhood…”

“Darius hasn’t figured out how to break me of my desire to slum it in this fine place.”

“You’re the challenge he never knew he needed.”

“Something like that.” I watched Cahal accept a sparkling glass of pink stuff in a crystal goblet. Pastel pink was the guy’s favorite color, but he hated pastel purple. I did not get it. At least he didn’t love yellow. That color made me want to punch things. “So what’s happening in the world at large?”

Emery heaved a deep breath and leaned back a little. “Demons. They’re cropping up—”

Darius was beside us in a moment, the speed with which he got there at odds with the slow, deliberate way he pulled a chair around, cognac gently swaying within the snifter he held.

“They’re cropping up all over the country,” Emery continued, and as if on a five-second delay, I felt a nasty spell hover in the air.

I grinned at the natural mage, a guy used to fighting for his life on the run. He wasn’t someone to spook, at any rate.

“You’re quick,” I said, “but he would’ve had you.”

“I have a bad habit of letting down my guard around him,” Emery murmured.

“You must know that I wouldn’t harm you,” Darius said, unperturbed, as he sat beside me. He took a sip of his drink, something he only allowed himself to do if he knew I would be on hand to give him blood should he need it.

I shivered with the memories of how pleasant it was to be his blood donor.

“There are never any certainties with a vampire,” Emery returned, and he had a point.

“Who’s sending the demons?” I asked, watching Penny do laps in the pool. Her slinky little bikini had likely been picked out by Marie, Penny’s biggest fan and Darius’s very fashionable vampire child.

“Yeah, that’s the question.” Emery rubbed his nose. “They’re being brought up by different summoners. Some of the circles are simple, and others are ancient in design. Dizzy is studying those with great interest. He knows how they work, but he’s getting more info on the details and the time period they were in vogue. That should help us trace the creator.”

It’s Ja,Darius thought, referring to the extreme elder vampire Penny had unintentionally awoken. She is using those demons as a distraction, as protection, and as trusted workers. She has illegally bonded two that I know of, neither of which have been able to get her through the fog barrier in the Underworld.

Bonding with demons was pretty gross if you asked me—I’d much rather fight them—but then, she was a vampire. Different set of ew factors, I guessed.

“Does anyone else know?” I asked him, purposely keeping my words vague. Emery shouldn’t want to piece this together, something he clearly realized from the way he entwined his fingers over his stomach and let his gaze drift away. It was wise to stay away from vampire politics. I would’ve if I could’ve, but my bond with Darius meant I had no choice but to be involved.

No. Not even Vlad, I don’t think. I wonder if she purposely revealed her hand to me. She has a grasp on politics and survival the likes of which I have never seen. Her experience is clear, and it’s just as clear she is jumping back into the thick of it. She has a plan, but I do not know what that is.

“So two types of circles calling demons?” I asked.

“A lot of different circles, actually,” Emery said, rejoining the conversation. “All power levels, which suggests several different mages, witches, humans—whoever—are doing the calling. Probably at the behest of Vlad. Other than the ancient circles, nothing really distinguishes them. A few of the demons have been called to distract shifters from changing parties, but most of them seem to be…” Emery glanced at me.

“Trying to goad me back into the world of the living?” I finished. “Trying to make me out myself to the demons?”

His nod was so slight that I wondered if he’d meant to nod at all. He knew this was a sticking point with Darius.

Sure enough, I felt a flash of anger through our bond.

Darius and Vlad had always maintained a respectful distance from each other when it came to their professional endeavors. As a courtesy, they did not step on each other’s toes. There were two reasons for that, one being that Vlad had made Darius. There was a connection there, even though vampires who had reached elder status no longer had to offer their maker a percentage of their income or any sort of fealty.

The second reason had to do with the type of vampires they were. Making it to elder status was no small feat. It required a cunning individual who could “play the game” through the ages and adapt with the times. It required a ruthless sort of mind backed by a great team. Vlad and Darius both had this, and they’d always known better than to go up against each other. Until now.

Apparently, I was motivation enough for Vlad to cross the line.

Well, more to the point, my father was motivation enough. Vlad wanted Lucifer’s favor. He wanted him in his corner when he tried to overthrow the elves.

He was absolutely stepping on Darius’s toes, and it had not gone unnoticed. The only thing was that I didn’t know what Darius planned to do about it. I had somehow given him back his humanity, and he was loath to actively go against his maker, a sentiment Vlad didn’t share regarding his child. Darius was between a proverbial rock and a hard place.

I planned to let him sort it out himself. Vampire politics were no fun. The little I knew gave me a headache.

“He has been trying to find where I’ve stashed you.” Darius calmly sipped his drink. “If not for the natural dual-mages’ magical concealment”—he nodded at Emery, giving his thanks—“he would’ve already found us.”

“That must really piss him off.” I pushed up with the intent to get more whiskey.

Darius was up in a flash and reaching for my cup. Emery flinched.

I laughed this time. “Still too slow, bro. So. Some of these demons are being called by Vlad and his minions, others are called by…this other being.” I bit my lip to keep from mentioning Ja’s name. “But you said there are probably human and mage summoners, too. Do you think Vlad and the other ones are controlling them all, or are there more people behind this?”

“It’s likely Vlad,” Emery said, “though we have limited proof. The types of demons are…mostly the same.” I caught his slight pause. “They are being called at inopportune times, though, and for that you need someone who can go out in the sun. Vlad has a lot of people on the payroll—getting someone to do his bidding wouldn’t be a problem. Though a few have been…stronger than the others.”

“How much stronger?” I asked.

“Quite a bit,” he replied. “And seemingly without the agenda of the others. Not inclined to cause mischief, but more to look around, we think.”

“Look around?” I asked.

Emery stared at Penny. Cahal shifted where he stood off to the side.

“Ah,” I said, really good at reading these people at this point. “Daddy is making house calls, only he doesn’t know which house to visit, so he’s sending his minions to search for clues.”

“We don’t know for sure,” Emery admitted. “We’ve had some powerful demons pop up from rudimentary circles. It’s as if they’ve pushed the intended demon out of the way and hitched a ride to the surface. Not even the ancient circles could call demons of this magnitude. Not on purpose. We have no proof, but while the powerful ones have popped up everywhere, there are higher concentrations in Seattle, New Orleans…your old neighborhood…”

I accepted my refilled cup from Darius. “You mean my current neighborhood, with the house that I very much still own and live in? I will go back there.”

“You will have no need of such a—”

I held up a finger for Darius. “Don’t start.”

“If you emerge—”

I swung my hand to stop Cahal. “You either. It is my home, I love it, and I will go back there. End of story.”

Silence fell over us.

Until Penny got out of the pool. “What’d I miss?”

“Nothing.” I waved her away. “Vlad being a pest, demons hitching rides—the usual.”

“Oh yeah.” Penny grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. Emery jumped up and offered her his chair, circling around the pool to pull another one over. She gave him a dopey smile usually reserved for lovesick lambs before sinking into it, her hair in a wet and twisted ponytail. “The latest ones coming up are hard to kill. Emery and I helped take out some of the ones in Seattle. It’s pretty strange. If the shifters don’t have some of their more powerful pack members on the case, or help from another powerful magical creature, like mages or fae, then those suckers just have a look around, mind their business, and bugger off. They act differently than the ones summoned by Vlad’s people and whoever’s responsible for the ancient circles—which is probably Ja, because that vampire seems to have a thing for me. I cannot shake her.”

Darius stiffened. Clearly that was information he hadn’t been given. Emery’s grimace said he would’ve liked to keep it under wraps, probably to use as currency with Darius, but Penny had a habit of messing up everyone’s plans. I liked her more for it.

“They aren’t in the area to fight,” Penny said. “Seems like they’re playing detective or something.”

“Again, we have no proof,” Emery said.

I laughed. “Give it up, Emery. She’s giving away all your secrets. Penny picks up on magical intent, and she can tell those demons are not after violence, like the others. They’re looking for me.”

“But not finding you,” Darius said.

“They won’t find you here unless they capture Emery and me and torture the information out of us.” Penny looked around.

Darius instantly rose. “Forgive me. What would you like to drink?”

“Oh. Just a—”

“Shot of tequila,” I said quickly.

Her dark look made me grin. I hated that she couldn’t stay all the time. She really was a great distraction.

“Sparkling water,” she said to Darius.

“She means Mexican sparkling water. In other words, a shot of tequila. With a worm,” I added.

She leveled a finger at me, but it wasn’t her middle one, sadly. She probably wanted it to be, though. “Number one, that’s not even accurate, and number two, I am not going to get drunk this time, so don’t even try.”

She most definitely was going to get drunk. I loved drunk Penny, mostly because of how worried Emery got that she’d tango with me and do something crazy. The unpredictability was a hoot.

But seriously, what I wouldn’t give for a shifter bar. Drunk Penny and a bunch of meathead shifters trying to throw their weight around, only to end up running for their lives from yours truly. That could cure anyone’s boredom.

“I doubt a demon could capture either of you,” Darius said, and delivered a sparkling water, the traitor, before sitting down again.

“Even if they did, they couldn’t crack me.” Ferocity rang in Emery’s voice.

“Sorry, Reagan, but they might crack me.” Penny’s large blue eyes looked at me sorrowfully. “I’m not as tough as Emery.”

I waved her away. “I wouldn’t expect you to try. If someone grabbed you, including Lucifer, I’d show up myself and rip you free. Don’t worry about it.”

“The time will come when you will tire of hiding—”

“Nope.” I held up a finger to Cahal. “Still on a timeout with all of that. Not now, bub. We’re having a nice time, just now, trying to talk Penny into drinking too much and doing something crazy.”

She shook her head adamantly and clutched her water with both hands.

“If you will excuse me.” Darius rose gracefully, and I watched the play of muscle under his black button-down shirt, his pecs popping and his shoulders straining the fabric. “I will put something on for dinner.”

I smiled devilishly at Emery. “Just watch. He’ll put on something that Penny absolutely loves so that she’ll forget to keep the rest of your secrets.”